Angelina Jolie donates $200K to NAACP fund

Many people would ring in their 45th birthday with a little cake, maybe a stiff drink, and a few good friends. Angelina Jolie certainly celebrated the special occasion with family and friends, but she also gave the generous gift of $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Because that’s just how the Oscar-winner and overall humanitarian rolls.Jolie confirmed the donation in a statement the day before her birthday on June 3, revealing her contribution to the ongoing fight for social justice and equality. “Rights don’t belong to any one group to give to another,” she said. “Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained away or justified. I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society. I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform.”

UPDATED, JUNE 2, 2020: Download, print, or share these resources in case you or someone you know is arrested while protesting: https://t.co/WO4UMhuLjq#GeorgeFloydProtests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/nFfVTJrUKh

— Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) June 2, 2020

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The donation is pretty much in-line with what fans have come to expect from the actress, who is also a Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and has spent a lot of time, money, and effort advocating for the rights of refugees over the years. Two months ago she also donated a million dollars to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, putting her money towards No Kid Hungry, the UN Refugee Agency, and schools in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Kenya and Namibia. 

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a dedicated group fighting for racial justice. It’s been a strong voice in the protests that have followed the May death of George Floyd at the hands of police, using litigation, advocacy and education to advocate for structural changes. Jolie is just one of the latest celebrities who have made donations to the group: Ellen DeGeneres, Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid have also given money, while Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated their own $200,000 to the organization earlier this week.

“We've never had to worry about preparing our kids for different rules of law or what might happen if we're pulled over in the car,” Reynolds wrote on Instagram. “We don't know what it's like to experience that life day in and day out. We can't imagine feeling that kind of fear and anger. We're ashamed that in the past we've allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is.”

The celebrity community has been coming together in the weeks following George Floyd’s death, taking to the streets to protest, amplifying important black voices on social media, and donating to important causes like the defense fund and the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which has so far this year received roughly $20 million in donations. To learn more about how you can help, click here.

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